In his talk, Rabbi Drew began by laying out a framework that “the idea of spirituality is rather a recent notion, springing up in the last couple of centuries, so it’s not something that we clearly see defined back for millenia – in the Bible, in Rabbinic Literature, and the various medieval writings. So, this is actually a new conception that we’re trying to see what how it comes out in Judaism. The various things that I’ve read seem to identify spirituality as being mindful, conscientiousness, or simply being in the moment and that seems to characterize what this spirituality is – it’s being mindful.”
Rabbi Drew went on to say that “Judaism isn’t inherently spiritual, nor does it force people to be spiritual, but it allows people to be spiritual.”
“A big component of Judaism is הלכה –Jewish Law – where there are certain actions that Jews are supposed to do. This הלכה is a framework or foundation for what we should be doing, but it doesn’t necessarily include spirituality. And I feel that, from the ground up, people can inject spirituality, can include spirituality, and really animate their own lives through doing that.”